Fiber optic communication systems are becoming prevalent in part because service providers want to deliver high band width communication capabilities to customers. Fiber optic communication systems often employ a network of fiber optic cables capable of transmitting large volumes of data and voice signals over relatively long distances. A typical fiber optic network includes a system of trunk fiber optic cables each including a relatively large number of optical fibers. Optical fiber networks also include drop cables that interconnect to fibers of the trunk cables at various locations along the lengths of the trunk cables. The drop cables can be routed from the trunk cables to subscriber locations or to intermediate structures such as drop terminals.
Drop cables are often connected to the optical fibers of trunk cables via splices (e.g., fusion splices or mechanical splices). Splices are often supported within splice trays that are protected from the environment by sealed, re-enterable enclosures. Such enclosures typically include sealed ports through which the trunk cables and drop cables enter the enclosures. One example type of enclosure includes a dome and a base that are interconnected by a clamp. A gel block mounts within the base. The gel block defines a plurality of cable ports for allowing cables to be routed into the enclosure through the base. The cable ports are sealed by pressurizing the gel block with a manual actuator. Plugs are mounted within any of the cable ports that are unused. Example dome-style splice closures are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,780,173; 5,446,823; and 5,323,480.
A typical fiber optic cable includes an optical fiber surrounded by a protective outer jacket. The optical fiber typically includes a glass core and cladding surrounded by one or more layers of protective coating. A typical fiber optic cable also includes a structure for reinforcing the cable with respect to tensile and/or compressive loading. For example, strength members, such as epoxy rods reinforced by glass fibers/rovings, can be incorporated into the cable to provide the cable with reinforcement with regard to both compressive and tensile loading. Other types of cables can include a strength layer formed by strength members such as aramid yarn which provide tensile reinforcement to the cables. When a fiber optic cable is routed into an enclosure, the outer jacket of the fiber optic cable is often stripped away to provide access to the internal optical fiber for splicing or connection to a fiber optic connector. It is a common practice for the fiber optic cable to be anchored to the enclosure such that any loading applied to the cable will be transferred from the cable to the enclosure. In this way, the unjacketed portion of optical fiber within the enclosure is protected from loading. To minimize installation costs, it is desirable for the fiber optic cable anchoring structures of an enclosure to be relatively easy to access and use.